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Tuesday, November 3, 2026

GUITAR, STRINGS & MUSIC CULTURE

Author

Ismail Okafor

Business Correspondent

Ismail Okafor covers Artists, Soundtrack News and Storytelling.

Articles by Ismail Okafor

Artists in the Studio: How a Record Really Gets Made

Artists in the Studio: How a Record Really Gets Made

Ismail Okafor

Artist Associations on Nantucket: How Island Groups Exhibit and Mentor

Artist Associations on Nantucket: How Island Groups Exhibit and Mentor

Ismail Okafor

'Guitars, Cadillacs' Guitar Lesson: Play It Right

'Guitars, Cadillacs' Guitar Lesson: Play It Right

Ismail Okafor

The Story Behind 'Guitars, Cadillacs' and Its Strum

The Story Behind 'Guitars, Cadillacs' and Its Strum

Ismail Okafor

Intonation Problems: Why Your Guitar Sounds Off Past the Third Fret

Guitar Intonation — Intonation Problems: Why Your Guitar Sounds Off Past the Third Fret

Ismail Okafor

The Best Classical Music Radio Stations in Boston

Classical Music

Classical Music Radio Station Boston: The Best Classical Music Radio Stations in Boston

Ismail Okafor

Keith Richards and Open G: Why Five Strings Changed Rhythm Guitar

Open G Tuning — Keith Richards and Open G: Why Five Strings Changed Rhythm Guitar

Ismail Okafor

A Beginner's Map to Understanding Classical Music Forms

Classical Music

Classical Music Songs: A Beginner's Map to Understanding Classical Music Forms

Ismail Okafor

Django Reinhardt: The Right-Hand Attack Behind Gypsy Jazz

Django Reinhardt: The Right-Hand Attack Behind Gypsy Jazz

Ismail Okafor

Where to Hear Classical Music in Boston Year-Round

Classical Music

Classical Music Concerts Boston: Where to Hear Classical Music in Boston Year-Round

Ismail Okafor

Nylon vs Phosphor Bronze Strings: Sound and Feel Trade-Offs

Nylon vs Phosphor Bronze Strings: Sound and Feel Trade-Offs

Ismail Okafor

Fingerstyle vs Flatpick: Technique, Tone, and When to Use Each

Fingerstyle vs Flatpick: Technique, Tone, and When to Use Each

Ismail Okafor

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Guitarist Who Wired Gospel Into Rock and Roll

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Guitarist Who Wired Gospel Into Rock and Roll

Ismail Okafor

Slide-position fret map comparing standard and open tuning chord shapes

Bonnie Raitt: Fifty Years of Slide

Ismail Okafor

Chart of cable capacitance versus treble rolloff by length

Guitar Cables and Signal Loss Explained

Ismail Okafor

Chart comparing travel guitar sizes and scale lengths

How to Choose a Travel Guitar

Ismail Okafor

Guitarist's right hand fingerpicking a hollow-body electric with thumb pick

Chet Atkins: How One Thumb Built Nashville

Ismail Okafor

Old Buenos Aires teaching studio with sheet music stands and guitars

Julio Sagreras: Primer That Still Teaches

Ismail Okafor

Radius gauges resting on a maple electric guitar fretboard

Fretboard Radius: 9.5 vs 12 Inch

Ismail Okafor

Diagram comparing standard and reversed string roles on a flipped guitar

Elizabeth Cotten: Playing It Upside Down

Ismail Okafor

Comparison chart of spruce, cedar, and mahogany tonewood properties

Spruce vs Cedar vs Mahogany Tonewoods

Ismail Okafor

A guitarist's right thumb resting on the humbuckers of a large hollow-body archtop

Wes Montgomery: The Case for the Thumb

Ismail Okafor